 Martinů's seeting of his libretto is primarily lyrical although there are no extended solo arias.The "extended diatonicism" of the composer's mature works features alongside with "motoric rhythms found in his Double Concerto of 1938, espeically where the plot moves rapidly forward.Jan Smaczny observes that the ability of the composer to characterize, honed as an observer of small-town life when a child living in the Polička clock tower offers a sequence of "sharply painted tableaux" with a "carnival of caricatures", both comic and poignant.